Jungkook had no idea where he was. No memory of where he was, or how he got here. But he knows he wasn’t wearing this when he left.

 

Jungkook was wearing the fanciest outfit he’d ever seen. A dark jacket lined with expensive beads, sleek fitting pants, and a maroon colored button-up that was the most comfortable  shirt he’d ever worn. It felt like silk. Was it Gucci or something? The whole outfit almost seemed like pajamas, it was so comfortable...The Jungkook he remembered could have never owned something like this. This must be a dream, he thought.

Yeah.

Why else would he be in this strange museum? Which, now that he’d noticed it, what was this place?

 

It seemed like Jungkook was standing in the nicest museum probably ever. Or maybe not, he hadn’t been to too many museums. It was spacious, and had a cleanly aura. There were elegant sculptures and paintings placed everywhere. Some he knew, some he’d never seen before. Everything in the room looked extremely expensive. The tall pillars carved from the floor, all made of a sleek marble. Even the painting frames looked to be made of gold.

What kind of dream was he having?

 

It was then Jungkook realized he’d been standing in the doorway of the room the whole time, awestruck. It took him a little bit to move his legs, and once they did, they couldn’t seem to stop. He’d accidentally walked straight into a sculpture as he was looking around, admiring the artwork. The sculpture almost fell over as he caught it with a surprised yelp. Jungkook tried to place the sculpture back up the way it was standing, mentally calculating how much this thing was probably worth.

Whatever money he had in this strange place would be gone after paying for whatever damages were caused to this piece, he thought.

 

As Jungkook let the statue settle, he suddenly heard footsteps, headed towards him. And fast.

He feared that he wouldn’t have any time to react, to get away from the statue, or, preferably, to hide. Just as he stepped away, he heard an unfamiliar deep voice shout.

 

“Hyung! There you are-”

 

The sentence stopped short as the person who the voice belonged to stepped into the room, and saw Jungkook.

 

The man who just stepped in appeared to be wearing a similarly fancy suit. It’s sparkly dark jacket hanging over a black silk shirt of his own, a red choker around his neck. His hair was short and slightly messy, yet strangely neat, and a bright blonde. The man had sleek, full lips, his stature tall and fit. And most notably - his eyes. They were full of beautiful long lashes, and striking a blue color.

 

This couldn’t be a dream, Jungkook thought.

 

He’d never seen this person in his life. But one thing was evident.

 

This was the most beautiful man he’d ever seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two stared at each other in an awkward silence, at a loss for words, until the unknown male spoke up.

 

“You..must be new..I’ve never seen you here before.” he said. He appeared to be eyeing Jungkook almost as much as Jungkook was looking at him.

 

“I...I don’t...where...where am I? Where is this?” Jungkook stuttered out.

 

“You...don’t know where you are?” the other man responded.

 

“Yes, I have no idea where I am, how I got here, why I’m wearing these clothes, who you are! I-I’m so confused..” Jungkook almost yelled, holding his head in frustration. He was beyond confused at this point.

“Is this all a dream? It’s gotta be. Or can it? I’ve never seen you before. Is it possible to dream about people you’ve never seen? Maybe my mind just made you up? Are you a figment of my imagination?” Jungkook ran his questions by a million miles a second, his head racing just as fast.

 

“H-hold on. Calm down. I..I’m not sure how you got here, either. But there’s gotta be a reason. Hey, we might as well introduce each other first, right?” the man said, outstretching his hand towards Jungkook.

“Sure..y-yeah. We might as well.” Jungkook replied, taking the man’s hand.

 

“I’m V.” the man said.

 

“Jungkook,” Jungkook replied.

 

“Great! Introductions with me done, let’s show you to the others!” V began, happily.

 

“O-others?” Jungkook asked, confused. “There’s others here?”

“Yup!” V replied, flashing a boxy smile. Jungkook could’ve sworn his heart stopped for a moment.

V began leading the two out of the room of the museum, grabbing Jungkook’s arm. Was he skipping? Jungkook was almost afraid to ask. He just nodded and let V lead him away.

“At least I’m not alone,” Jungkook thought.

 

V led Jungkook into a room that was smaller than the gallery they had started in. It was quaint, a single couch against the wall sat as the only other furniture in the room, besides a side table, of which a vase of roses rested upon. The wall behind the couch held a mirror, curtains draped over it as if it were a window. Beside the couch, an elegant changing screen. Papers, small sculptures, and lamps littered the floor of the room. Jungkook made sure to watch out for the empty and broken bottles of a strangely colored liquid scattered throughout the room. The room had an eerie lime green glow cast over it, which Jungkook blamed on the strangely colored lamps.

 

“Hyung?” V called out, his head spinning around, searching for someone.

 

Just then a crash was heard from somewhere in the tiny room, followed by a distressed groan.

 

“There he is!” V exclaimed. He began to tug on Jungkook’s arm, leading him towards the source of the noise.

 

Stepping over the mess on the floor, V led Jungkook over behind the changing screen, stuck in the corner of the room. A man stood, crouched over a fallen statue.

 

“Aw, dang it. Another one…” he groaned.

 

“Hyung!” V called.

 

The man whipped his head around towards V’s voice.

 

“Oh, hi V-” the man stopped short, noticing the newcomer standing next to V.

“Who’s this?” he asked.

 

“This is Jungkook! He’s new!” V replied.

 

“New?” the man asked. He sent was Jungkook thought was a knowing glance to V. What had it meant? was the question.

 

The man directed his attention back towards Jungkook. He held out his hand.

 

“I’m Namjoon. It’s nice to meet you!” he said, the corners of his mouth showing prominent dimples.

 

Jungkook took this moment to observe Namjoon - for what, he didn’t know. A sign that this was all fake, perhaps? The delicate blue jacket over a white, frilly colored shirt Namjoon wore again looked more expensive than anything Jungkook could ever buy in his life. Although the somewhat wide blue pants kind of took away from that effect a little bit..Jungkook questioned this man’s fashion sense.

 

Jungkook reached out to accept Namjoon’s hand, but V slapped it away.

 

“Careful! You don’t want to lose your hand!” he giggled.

 

Jungkook just got even more confused at that statement - and slightly afraid.

 

Namjoon sighed.

“I apologize, he’s like that. What he means is I’m extremely clumsy, and, as you can see,” he turned to the broken statue behind him, “- I break things a lot.”

 

Jungkook just nodded his head in understandment. He didn’t really understand anything at all, actually. His head was beginning to hurt now. Nothing seemed to make sense about all of this. He was just asking more questions rather than getting answers.

 

“Have you met the others?” Namjoon asked.

 

“Nope!” V answered. “I was looking for you when I met him, so I figured I’d introduce you first! Besides, you know the most about this place.”

 

That immediately caught Jungkook’s attention. He quickly looked at Namjoon. Namjoon saw and nodded, understanding the questioning look in Jungkook’s eyes.

 

“I’ll tell you a little bit later. Let’s meet the others first.”

 

Jungkook didn’t want to wait. He wanted answers. Now. But seeing how everyone else he’d met so far seemed so calm and used to this strange world, he figured the least he could do was be polite and wait. He allowed V to lead him away again, Namjoon following close behind.

 

“Where’s hyung..?” V mumbled to himself, looking around as he lead Jungkook into another room. Or was it? Jungkook couldn’t really tell. The place seemed so big and endless that to him, everything just faded into another area. This room was much darker, and Jungkook could hear the faint noise water running.

 

Fwip.

 

Jungkook heard a sound, like something soaring through the air, colliding with a surface.

 

Fwip.

 

Or, more like piercing a surface, he thought. A shout followed.

 

Fwip.

 

As the sound grew louder, he could hear a thud when whatever is was struck its target.

 

Fwip.

 

Another shout ensued. Jungkook couldn’t tell if it was one of disappointment or success.

 

Fwip.

 

The trio neared the source of the noise, and were greeted by a man firing a bow and arrow at a row of targets lined up. The whole room was dark, with a few pillars holding up a ceiling that couldn’t be seen, and decorative ferns placed in an orderly fashion. A large sculpture stood behind the man. Jungkook felt as if he’d seen it before, but couldn’t place his finger on it. What struck Jungkook as the oddest part, however, was the fact that this new stranger was standing in a pool of water, like that of a fountain. He was plunged knee depth right into it, and didn’t seem to care.

 

Fwip.

 

The man echoed another shout. “Aw, bullseye!”

 

Jungkook just stared, even more confused. The arrow had landed on the outskirts of the target, nowhere near the bullseye at all.

 

Right as the man was about to grab another arrow, he turned around the face the trio, as if he had known they were there the whole time. A large, heart shaped smile plastered on his face, complimenting his orange hair and deep red jacket.

 

“Hello you guys!” he said, almost a little too cheerfully, at least to Jungkook.

 

“Hi Hoseok-hyung!” V greeted. He turned to Jungkook.

 

“Jungkook, this is Hoseok.”

 

Jungkook turned to look back at Hoseok, to greet him as well, but found Hoseok had disappeared from where he was standing. Not a moment later, he felt a presence behind him, and, what felt to be...sniffing?

 

“Ah, you’re new..you smell nice..”

 

Jungkook jumped back, startled. Hoseok just laughed to himself.

 

“Aha, sorry about that, Jungkook,” Namjoon said. “Hoseok sort of..does whatever he wants.”

 

 

"I close my eyes every night from twisted reality
The music box of tragedy echoes
But in order to be free from this crime
It’s impossible to forget and give up" Hoseok whispered into Jungkook's ear. So quickly he nearly missed it, yet Hoseok's strange words stuck with him for a while.

 

Jungkook turned to look behind him. Hoseok’s pants were still wet, meaning that even if he had managed to get out of the pool and stand behind Jungkook in the few moments he’d turned to look at V, he would have left-

 

 

Nothing.

The floor was completely dry.

 

Jungkook turned to face Hoseok again. A pool was beginning to form around where he was standing.

 

“How did you-?” Jungkook began to ask.

 

Hoseok laughed again, and began moving his arms in circular motion.

 

“It’s magic, ho ho~” he whistled.

 

Hoseok began walking away, and promptly stood back in the pool, beginning to shoot arrows again. V went over to talk to him, leaving Jungkook alone with Namjoon. Jungkook hoped this would be a good opportunity to get some much needed answers.

 

Before he could even ask, Namjoon put his hand on Jungkook’s shoulders.

 

“I know what you must be thinking-” he started, “I know you’re confused, but just trust me. In due time I’ll tell you everything. For now...don’t be scared by Hoseok. He may seem weird, but he’s a great guy. He’s just...not really in his right mind…”

 

“What do you mean by that?” Jungkook asked.

 

“It’s..not really in my right to tell you how it happened..that’s for him to tell you if he ever feels comfortable. But, pretty much, he’s..what you could call...insane.”

 

“Insane?”

 

Jungkook turned back to where Hoseok and V were chatting. For someone who was insane, he certainly didn’t look it. At least, not for what was normally portrayed to Jungkook as insane.

 

“But he doesn’t look insane...he just looks like a really weird guy.” Jungkook responded.

 

“He’s really good at acting.” was all Namjoon said before lifting his hand from Jungkook’s shoulder and going over to talk to Hoseok and V.

 

“Hey, we’re going to go introduce Jungkook to everyone else. I assume you’re going to stay here, Hoseok? Do you know where the others might be?” Namjoon asked.

 

“Well the lovers are probably where they normally are.” Hoseok replied, adding a little eyebrow wiggle at the end, a knowing grin on his face. He began to giggle as he turned back to his target.

Namjoon tugged on V’s shirt, motioning him in another direction. They began to walk towards wherever Namjoon had directed to.

 

“C’mon Jungkook!” V said giddily, grabbing ahold of Jungkook’s arm once again.

 

They followed Namjoon through another door, into a long marble hallway. The other room they were just in felt so otherworldly to Jungkook. They are definitely not in a normal building, he thought.

The hallway led to a marble staircase. That staircase led to yet another hallway, and somewhere down this hallway the trio found themselves standing in front of a pair of elegant doors. They looked to be made of glass, with intricate designs laid all over them.

 

Namjoon gently pushed open the doors, seeming as if not wanting to make any noise.The room itself felt very intricate. Flowery design lining every space of the wall, the whole room having a blue feel to it, as if filled with sadness. Part of the floor was made of glass, but Jungkook couldn’t see it leading into anything in particular below. But that wasn’t what was occupying his attention right now. What was, was a pair of men, kneeling on the floor, their backs facing the doors. They were the only things in the room. A silver haired man sat, slouched over, and a raven haired man next to him.

 

As soon as the trio had stepped in, the silver haired man’s head perked up, and he slowly turned his head around towards the noise that had just entered the room.

 

“Is someone there?” he asked in a soft, yet sweet voice.

 

What Jungkook noticed right away was the silk ribbon tied around the man’s eyes.

 

“What the-?” Jungkook thought.

 

“It’s me.” Namjoon said.

 

“O-oh.” the silver haired man said.

 

“And me!” V said, smiling.

 

“Oh, hi V.” the silver haired man said. He turned to where Jungkook was standing, even though he couldn’t see him.

 

“Is there...someone else?” he asked.

 

“Yup!” V replied excitedly. “We’ve got a new friend!”

 

“A new..friend?” the man inquired.

 

“Yeah! This is Jungkook!” V said, and motioned for Jungkook to step forward. Jungkook hesitated, still staring at the blindfolded man, but more at the other, black haired one who hadn’t moved an inch.

 

V pushed on Jungkook’s back, urging him to introduce himself.

 

“O-oh. Um..hi. I’m Jungkook. And..you are?” he said.

 

“Oh- I’m Jimin.” the man said, his puffy lips curving into a small, polite smile.

 

“Um..what’s with the…” Jungkook began, his words slipping from his mouth, not really thinking about what he was saying.

 

“The what? What did you ask?” Jimin asked.

 

Namjoon leaned over to whisper in Jungkook’s ear.

 

“He’s blind,” he said, “that’s why he wears the ribbon.”

 

“Oh. Okay.” Jungkook said. He didn’t really see why the ribbon was necessary. Maybe he was just self conscious of his eyes? Yeah, that must be it, Jungkook thought.

 

Jimin stood up, and turned around so he could greet the newcomer. It was at this point that the man beside him finally began to move. He stood up and turned along with Jimin. Here it was when Jungkook noticed something strange about him. The raven haired man seemed to have a death grip on Jimin’s hand, refusing to let go. A long, black silk shirt, clearly too big for him, was draped over his body. His head was downtrodden towards the floor, dark hair slightly cast over his face. His dull, grayish gaze occupied. His whole aura felt dull and black, as if he were attending a funeral. It didn’t even look like he was breathing. He looked more like a doll than a living man.

 

Jimin’s head moved strangely, as if he noticed Jungkook’s questioning gaze.

 

“Ah. This is Yoongi,” he said, turning his head in Yoongi’s direction. “He stays with me all the time. He’s..almost like a guide dog in a way.” Jimin lightly chuckled to him. His laugh sounded like a child’s, and Yoongi’s head slightly perked up at that statement. Jungkook had been beginning to think that maybe Yoongi was deaf, but perhaps not so much, since he reacted to Jimin calling him a dog.

 

The air quickly grew quiet and heavy, no one saying a word. Jungkook immediately felt very awkward. He wanted to break the thick silence, but wasn’t sure how.

 

Finally, Namjoon spoke up. “Sooo...what were you two doing in here?”

 

“Ah...Yoongi and I were just talking, as usual.” Jimin answered.

 

“Talking?” Jungkook thought. It seemed as if Yoongi couldn’t talk. He looked as if he hadn’t opened his mouth in years - or ever. Could it even open? Maybe that thought of Yoongi being a doll wasn’t too far fetched...especially since with how strange this place already was, Jungkook wouldn’t be too surprised if living dolls were a thing here.

 

“Well, I..suppose we’ll leave you two be, then. I can already tell Yoongi dislikes us interrupting you two, especially with bringing in a stranger.” Namjoon said.

 

“Ah, yes..Well, I hope we are not strangers for long! I hope to see-er...meet you around?” Jimin replied, turning towards Jungkook again.

 

“Um..y-yeah.” Jungkook stuttered. “Bye Jimin...bye Yoongi..I-I guess.”

 

“Goodbye.” Jimin politely waved as Namjoon, V and Jungkook exited the room.

 

When the door closed, Jungkook let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

 

“I apologize about that,” Namjoon said, “Yoongi is very..attached, to say. Things can get pretty awkward around those two.”

 

“You seem to be apologizing for everyone here.” Jungkook said.

 

“Ah, well..Everyone is here is pretty...unique,” Namjoon responded. “They may all seem strange at first, but they’re all really great people once you get to really know them. Trust me, with some time, you’ll love them.”

 

“Okay.” Jungkook said, fully trusting Namjoon well.

 

“Don’t worry, the last person here is pretty normal compared to everyone else.” he said.

 

Well with how weird everyone else here already was, Jungkook thought being considered normal here wasn’t a difficult thing to do.

 

 

Namjoon led V and Jungkook down the staircase and into another nearby hallway. Rounding a corner, they walked into another art filled room, similar to the one Jungkook first woke up in. Standing in the room, admiring one the paintings, was a tall and strikingly handsome man. Though Jungkook was only looking at him from the side, he could tell how broad the man’s shoulders were, the white, sequin-laced shirt fitting perfectly on his build, which complimented his orangey-pink hair. He pointed a small polaroid camera at the painting he was observing, and snapped a photo. When the image came out, he grinned, satisfied with the result.

 

The man looked to his side, seeing Namjoon and V standing close by.

“Oh, hello!” He greeted, and then noticed Jungkook standing beside them.

 

“Ah, a newcomer I see.” he said.

 

“See, I told you he was normal,” Namjoon said to Jungkook, stepping towards the man.

 

“Seokjin, this is Jungkook.” Namjoon turned his body towards Jungkook, his hands motioning towards Seokjin. “Jungkook, this is Seokjin.”

 

Seokjin walked over to Jungkook and reached out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” he smiled.

 

Jungkook took his hand and shook it. “Same here.”

 

Seokjin grinned to himself. “So how long have you been here?” he asked.

 

“I..I don’t know..” Jungkook replied. He’d realized he’d lost all perception of time, and he hadn’t noticed any clocks anywhere in this place. What time was it?

 

“I found him while I was looking for Namjoon-hyung earlier,” V perked up. “He was in the Gallery.”

 

“Oh, I just missed you, then! I was just in there.” Seokjin responded.

 

The four nodded, before going silent again, unsure of how to continue to conversation. Namjoon was once again the one to break the silence.

“Well, that’s everyone, Jungkook. You’ll get to know them well. In fact, I think it’s about time for dinner. V, will you go round everyone up?”

 

“Sure thing hyung!” V said, before running off to retrieve the others.

 

“I suppose I’ll go prepare the food,” Seokjin said, heading off into another direction, leaving Namjoon and Jungkook alone once again.

 

“Is now a good time for answers?” Jungkook asked impatiently.

 

“Well..just hold on a little bit. I’m sure some of your questions will probably be answered at dinner.” Namjoon answered

 

Jungkook just nodded in agreement, hoping Namjoon wasn’t lying to him. He still had absolutely no idea about what was going on here.

 

Still unsure of what to talk about, Jungkook just wandered around the room, hoping to kill time until he had to go to wherever the dinner table was. He stood and admired the pieces of art. Some he knew, some were foreign. Some were biblical, some were mythological. Some were just plain out weird.

 

Eventually V returned.

“I got everyone! We’re all waiting at the table!” he said, before running off again.

 

“Well, that’s our cue. Let’s go.” Namjoon said. Jungkook had sort of forgotten that Namjoon was patiently waiting in the same spot this entire time. He began to walk off into the hallway again, Jungkook following close behind.

 

Namjoon led him to another staircase, this one smaller, leading to a strangely designed door. Upon opening it, Namjoon led Jungkook into the weirdest dining room he’d ever seen - if he could even call it that. The walls were splashes with neon reds and pinks, that pulsated as if breathing, and the edges of the wall were lined with - trees? They looked dead, and charred. Some were lying against the wall, some appeared as if coming out of the wall, like they were escaping out of a living painting. The room almost looked like a forest, as other dead plants and rocks were strewn across was seemed liked a dirt floor. In the center was a grand banquet upon a large, long table, a white silk tablecloth laid over it. Jimin, Yoongi, Hoseok and Seokjin were already seated, V was seating himself down. Namjoon sat next to V, allowing Jungkook to sit at the other side of him, with Seokjin at the head of the table

 

Seokjin stood up, raising his glass.

“I’d like to toast, to our new friend Jungkook, for joining us here tonight, and for hopefully many more nights to come.” Seokjin motioned his glass towards Jungkook, and smiled.

 

“To Jungkook.”

 

“To Jungkook” the others replied, raising their glasses and taking a sip.

 

Jungkook did not, as he felt slightly uncomfortable, and wasn’t even sure if he was old enough to drink wine yet. He’d begun to forget very basic information already, like his own age, or the legal age of drinking. This place was already doing some strange things to him.

 

He wanted to get out.

 

Seokjin sat back down and everyone else began to eat, complementing Seokjin’s cooking skills.

As delicious as the meal looked, Jungkook just didn’t have an appetite. Namjoon noticed this, and questioned him.

 

“Are you not going to eat your food?” he asked.

 

“I’m not very hungry..” Jungkook replied, guiltily. He felt bad for not eating the meal, it looked as if Seokjin had put a lot of time into it.

 

Namjoon leaned over to comfort Jungkook.

“Hey - it’s okay. I know you’re confused, but I promise I’ll explain as much as I can. For now, just try and eat. It’s really good, trust me.”

 

Jungkook was unsure, he was beginning to lose his trust in Namjoon. He just wanted to know what the heck was going on.

At this point V had noticed that Jungkook hadn’t touched his food, too.

 

“Aaw, is Jungkook not hungry?” he whined.

 

“Here,” he said, moving over next to Jungkook’s seat. V scooped up a fork full of food and held it to Jungkook’s lips.

“C’mon, open up for the airplane~!” he cooed. Jungkook felt like a baby, but complied and opened up anyways, allowing V to feed him.

 

“That’s good, eat up. Kookie has to eat well if he wants to get big and strong!” V giggled.

 

“Kookie?” Jungkook thought.

He’d heard that nickname before. Where did V get it?

 

“H-how do you know that name?” Jungkook asked, slightly suspicious.

 

“Huh? A-ah! Well..I mean..if you said your name cutely, it’s Jungkookie..which sounds like cookie if you just take away the Jung- part, s-so I thought..” V stammered.

 

Jungkook could tell he was lying.

 

“You can’t just come up with the nickname in an instant like that, and I don’t think you’ve been thinking about it all day. How do you know that name?” Jungkook was almost yelling now. He stood up out of his seat.

“Do you I know you?”

V opened his mouth to object, but no words came out.

 

“Jungkook, maybe you should calm down-” Namjoon tried to say, but Jungkook cut him off.

 

“No! I don’t know who any of you are, what this place is, or what’s going on here, but you can’t just know my nickname like that!” Jungkook yelled. Everyone else at the table was looking now - even Yoongi seemed to be somewhat interested in the argument.

 

“Look, Jungkook, just calm and down and let me-”

 

“NO!” Jungkook cut Namjoon off again.

“You’ve been avoiding my questions all day, and had multiple chances to explain yourself! I wants answers NOW!”

 

Namjoon sighed, and stood up. He grabbed Jungkook’s arm and led him back out into the hallway.

 

“H-hey! Let go of me!” Jungkook protested.

 

Namjoon spun around and placed his hands on Jungkook’s shoulders, sighing.

 

“Look, calm down and let me explain-”

 

“No! Just tell me already!”

Jungkook struggled, but Namjoon’s grasp seemed too firm.

 

“Jungkook- Jungkook look, this place isn’t what you think it is - I’m not who you think I am.” Namjoon started.

 

“Y-yeah! I got that!” Jungkook interjected, still trying to get out of Namjoon’s hold.

 

Namjoon sighed again.“Jungkook - I’m..I’m like a god, of sorts, to put it lightly. You’ve fallen into my own realm. It’s like a limbo, a-a world in between.”

 

“Wh-what! Now you’re just being ridiculous!” Jungkook continued to struggle.

 

“Jungkook you don’t get it.” Namjoon said.

 

“Don’t get what!” Jungkook yelled back.

 

“Jungkook- Jungkook you’re dead.”

 

Jungkook stopped struggling.

 

“Wh-what?”

 

“Jungkook, you’re dead.”